Marvel Collectors' Item Classics

Last updated
Marvel Collectors' Item Classics
MCIC9.jpg
Issue #9 (June 1967), with word-balloon dialog by "Stan" [Lee], "Sol" [Brodsky], "Flo" [Steinberg] and other 1960s staffers, epitomizing a then-small Marvel's in-jokey, fan-based marketing
Publication information
Publisher Marvel Comics
ScheduleBimonthly
Format Ongoing series
Genre
No. of issuesMarvel Collectors' Item Classics: #1-22 (Feb. 1965 – Aug. 1969)
Marvel's Greatest Comics: #23-96 (Oct. 1969 – Jan. 1981)
Main character(s) Doctor Strange, Fantastic Four, the Hulk, Iron Man
Creative team
Written by Robert Bernstein, Stan Lee, Larry Lieber
Artist(s) Steve Ditko, Don Heck, Jack Kirby

Marvel Collectors' Item Classics was an American comic book series published by Marvel Comics in the mid- to late-1960s that marked the first reprinting of many of the earliest Marvel stories. Primarily focused on the Fantastic Four, Iron Man, Doctor Strange, and the Hulk, it ran 22 issues before changing its name and page-count, becoming Marvel's Greatest Comics.

Contents

Publication history

One of several 68-page, 25-cent "giant-size" comic books that supplemented publishers' regular 36-page, 12-cent lines, Marvel Collectors' Item Classics premiered as an annual publication in 1965. [1] That first issue, dated February 1965 in its postal indicia though not on the cover, reprinted The Fantastic Four #2 (Jan. 1962) and The Amazing Spider-Man #3 (July 1963), as well as the Ant-Man story from Tales to Astonish #36, and the first "Tales of Asgard" featurette, from Journey into Mystery #97 (Oct. 1963). [2] It was a sister publication of what was then the annual, giant-size reprint comic Marvel Tales .

MCIC, as it was often abbreviated in Marvel Comics text pages, became a bimonthly series beginning with issue #2 (April 1966), which reprinted The Fantastic Four #3 (March 1962), The Amazing Spider-Man #4 (Sept. 1963), and the Ant-Man story from Tales to Astonish #37 (Nov. 1962). [2]

Rare new cover art, by Jack Kirby and John Verpoorten, on the reprint comic Marvel Collectors' Item Classics #19 (Feb. 1969) MCIC19.jpg
Rare new cover art, by Jack Kirby and John Verpoorten, on the reprint comic Marvel Collectors' Item Classics #19 (Feb. 1969)

Dropping Spider-Man the following issue with that superhero's stories going on to anchor Marvel Tales the comic began reprinting what would be its regular line-up: The Fantastic Four, The Incredible Hulk , Iron Man stories from Tales of Suspense , and Doctor Strange stories from Strange Tales . Six issues included short semi-anthological "Tales of the Watcher" science-fiction stories hosted by and sometimes featuring Uatu, the Watcher. [2]

The reprints were generally in serial order, with occasional skips; missing, for instance, are The Fantastic Four #5-6, already reprinted in Fantastic Four Annual #2-3 (1964–1965); #11, already partly reprinted in Annual #3; #12, never reprinted at the time; #19, reprinted in heavily edited form in the 1967 promotional one-shot America's Best TV Comics ; and #25-26, reprinted in Fantastic Four Annual #4 (1966). [3]

The covers of issues #1-11 each reprinted two to four covers of the comics reprinted inside. Issues of The Incredible Hulk were not reprinted in full, but generally as chapters spread across two to three issues apiece. [2]

Marvel's Greatest Comics

With issue #23 (Oct. 1969), the series changed its title and reduced its page-count to 52, exchanging its Hulk stories for shorter "Tales of the Watcher" vignettes. They and such incidentals as pin-ups were replaced by Captain America stories from Tales of Suspense in #25-28. Afterward, the comic reprinted two Fantastic Four stories each issue, usually with a Human Torch and Thing feature from Strange Tales, before becoming a standard 36-page comic with #35 (June 1972), reprinting Fantastic Four stories, at the then-regular price of 20 cents. [4]

The series ran through #96 (Jan. 1981), reprinting a truncated, 23-page version of the 34-page Fantastic Four #116. [4]

Related Research Articles

<i>Tales to Astonish</i> Science-fiction and superhero comic book series

Tales to Astonish is the name of two American comic book series, and a one-shot comic, all published by Marvel Comics.

Strange Tales is a Marvel Comics anthology series. The title was revived in different forms on multiple occasions. Doctor Strange and Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. made their debuts in Strange Tales. It was a showcase for the science fiction/suspense stories of artists Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko, and for the groundbreaking work of writer-artist Jim Steranko. Two previous, unrelated magazines also bore that title.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Larry Lieber</span> American comic book artist and writer

Lawrence D. Lieber is an American comic book artist and writer best known as co-creator of the Marvel Comics superheroes Iron Man, Thor, and Ant-Man; for his long stint both writing and drawing the Marvel Western Rawhide Kid; and for illustrating the newspaper comic strip The Amazing Spider-Man from 1986 to September 2018. From 1974 to 1975, he was editor of Atlas/Seaboard Comics. Lieber is the younger brother of the late Marvel Comics writer, editor, and publisher Stan Lee.

See also: 1950s in comics, other events of the 1960s, 1970s in comics and the list of years in comics

Notable events of 1962 in comics. Starting January, most companies raise their comics from 10 to 12 cents.

Notable events of 1963 in comics.

Notable events of 1964 in comics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marvel UK</span> Imprint of Marvel Comics that has become defunct since 1995

Marvel UK was an imprint of Marvel Comics formed in 1972 to reprint US-produced stories for the British weekly comic market. Marvel UK later produced original material by British creators such as Alan Moore, John Wagner, Dave Gibbons, Steve Dillon, and Grant Morrison.

Panini Comics is an Italian comic book publisher. A division of Panini Group, which also produces collectable stickers, it is headquartered in Modena, Italy. The company publishes comic books in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Mexico, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom, as well as manga in several non-English-speaking countries through the Planet Manga publishing division.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dick Ayers</span> American cartoonist

Richard Bache Ayers was an American comic book artist and cartoonist best known for his work as one of Jack Kirby's inkers during the late-1950s and 1960s period known as the Silver Age of Comics, including on some of the earliest issues of Marvel Comics' The Fantastic Four. He is the signature penciler of Marvel's World War II comic Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos, drawing it for a 10-year run, and he co-created Magazine Enterprises' 1950s Western-horror character the Ghost Rider, a version of which he would draw for Marvel in the 1960s.

<i>The Mighty World of Marvel</i> Comic book series

The Mighty World Of Marvel was a British comic book series published first by Marvel UK and then by Panini Comics. Debuting on 30 September 1972, it was the first title published by Marvel UK and ran until 1984. The series was revived in 2003 by Panini Comics, who are licensed to reprint Marvel US material in Europe, and was published monthly until November 2019.

<i>Fantastic</i> (comics)

Fantastic was a weekly British comic book magazine published by Odhams Press under the Power Comics imprint. It first appeared on 18 February 1967, and with its 52nd issue on 10 February 1968 it merged with its sister title Terrific. The 89th and final issue of Fantastic appeared on 26 October 1968, after which it was merged into its sister title Smash!.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">It! The Living Colossus</span> Comics character

It! The Living Colossus is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Initially a statue animated by a hostile extraterrestrial, he first appeared in the science-fiction anthology series Tales of Suspense #14, in a story drawn by Jack Kirby. He was revived in Astonishing Tales #21 by writer Tony Isabella and artist Dick Ayers as the protagonist of a short-lived feature, in which he was animated by a wheelchair-using special-effects designer.

<i>Marvel Tales</i> (comics)

Marvel Tales is the title of an American comic book series published by Marvel Comics from 1964 to 1994 and a flip magazine series published Marvel Comics by from August 2005 to February 2007. Both series primarily reprinted Spider-Man stories.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fantastic Four Adventures</span> Marvel UK comic

Fantastic Four Adventures is part of Marvel UK's 'Collector's Edition' line. It is being published by Panini Comics but reprints Marvel Comics from the United States. It began in 2005 around the release of the Fantastic Four film and follows the format established by the Collector's Edition Range. Fantastic Four Adventures is sold once every 28 days through newsagents, although a subscription offer is available. Fantastic Four Adventures retailed at £2.40 upon its release, but rising in printing costs have seen the price rise to £2.50 and then onto the current price of £2.95. It was announced at the end of 2011 that Fantastic Four Adventures would cease publication with its final issue in March 2012, only to be replaced by a new CE, Incredible Hulks.

<i>Astonishing Tales</i> Comic book series published by Marvel Comics

Astonishing Tales is an American anthology comic book series originally published by Marvel Comics from 1970 to 1976. Its sister publication was Amazing Adventures.

Marvel Fireside Books were a series of full-color trade paperbacks featuring Marvel Comics stories and characters co-published by Marvel and the Simon & Schuster division Fireside Books from 1974 to 1979. The first book, 1974's Origins of Marvel Comics, was very successful, and inspired a series of annual sequels.

<i>Spider-Man Comics Weekly</i>

Spider-Man Comics Weekly was a Marvel UK publication which primarily published black-and-white reprints of American Marvel four-color Spider-Man stories. Marvel UK's second-ever title, Spider-Man Comics Weekly debuted in 1973, initially publishing "classic" 1960s Spider-Man stories.

References

  1. DeFalco, Tom (2008). "1960s". In Gilbert, Laura (ed.). Marvel Chronicle A Year by Year History. London, United Kingdom: Dorling Kindersley. p. 107. ISBN   978-0756641238. Realizing that many of his new readers had missed his early stories, Stan Lee began publishing Marvel Collectors' Item Classics.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Marvel Collectors' Item Classics at the Grand Comics Database
  3. Fantastic Four Annual at the Grand Comics Database
  4. 1 2 Marvel's Greatest Comics at the Grand Comics Database